“Give me a winning car, and I’ll win”: Daniel Ricciardo defiant on giving up on $15 million contract as he believes he can still rule F1

Daniel Ricciardo says he can still win. Despite rumours surrounding his exit, he is committed to turning the season around for McLaren.

Daniel Ricciardo has not had a good start to the 2022 season. The 34-year-old has only scored in 4 races in the season so far. And after the 2022 French GP, he stands 12th in the standings with 19 points.

Touted to be a future World Champion during his Red Bull days, Ricciardo finds himself struggling with McLaren. He has not adjusted to the new-spec cars of 2022.

When McLaren signed the Aussie, it was confirmed as a major step taken by the team by signing a proven race winner. But the deal hasn’t paid the same dividends so far.

The ‘honey badger’ delivered McLaren by winning the 2021 Italian GP in Monza. It was the team’s first win since 2012 and their first 1-2 finish since the 2010 Canadian Grand Prix.

 

Daniel is confident that his mojo hasn’t died down. And given a race-winning car, he will soon be on the top of the podium.“Give me a winning car, and I’ll win,” Ricciardo claimed.

He adds, “I don’t feel I’ve ever left a win on the table. But that’s the challenge ahead of us, with myself and the team at McLaren. It’s like, ‘let’s figure this out. I want to take on this challenge with you. Let’s figure it out. Because you’ve given me this, and I will give you this.

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Daniel Ricciardo is committed to McLaren

Daniel Ricciardo’s struggle with McLaren was quite visible. In the meantime, his teammate Lando Norris has out-qualified the experienced driver in the same machinery.

This added fuel to the fiery rumours that McLaren could cut Ricciardo’s contract a year early. Alex Albon, Colton Herta, Oscar Piastri and Sebastian Vettel were considered ‘possible’ replacements if the Aussie was let go.

McLaren CEO Zak Brown, too did not dismiss the rumours outrightly. But Ricciardo laid the speculations to rest momentarily with his Instagram post. He stated he is committed to McLaren till the end of his contract.

He clarified that the message was to not draw attention to his struggles. “People obviously created questions and their own answers. So it was just setting it straight.”

The Aussie contracts with McLaren until the end of the 2023 season. Ricciardo earns a base salary of $15 million per year. This makes him one of the highest earners in the F1 grid.

Also Read: Daniel Ricciardo tears up amidst talks of him losing a $15 Million per year contract with McLaren

McLaren can still turn the season around

McLaren has faced reliability issues and a lack of pace in the MCL-36. And the British team are losing their 4th place target in the constructor’s championship to Alpine.

But Daniel Ricciardo believes the team has enough momentum to save the season. He feels positive about the performances in Austria and France as McLaren has scored double points in the last 2 races.

“Ultimately, we’re now in a fight for fourth in the Championship and that’s certainly now our target to maintain fourth. So it’s not over yet, of course, but yeah, it hasn’t been the first six months we wanted.”

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